The Things They Carried Chapter 17 Summary

Chapter 17 Summary

The seventeenth chapter in The Things They Carried is "In the Field." The men are searching for Kiowa, who has just drowned in a field of human waste outside of a Vietnamese ville. They are near the river Song Tra Bong, which has flooded the flat plain where the men were camped. The flood water turned the field to a mix of mud and excrement, and the men were attacked during the night as well. Now, the men consider their role in Kiowa's death as they wade through the field searching for his body.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross initially blames himself for Kiowa's death. He was ordered to set up camp in the field, but he now tells himself that he could have exercised better judgment. If he had done so, perhaps Kiowa, who...